The Red Easter Egg
by Tnelson711
Summary: Long story short, Ed finds out that the Easter Bunny is not real. I also posted this on  as a Fanfiction of the Season entry, so if you want, you can check it out there. Rated K  for a Nightmare Sequence.


_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

The clock was among the few noises echoing through the classroom that Friday. Other sounds included the sound of notes being scribbled down by pencils (mostly by Edd), the sound of a soft snoring by Eddy, heavy breathing from Ed, and the almost-finished lecture from the History teacher. For the most part, everyone was doing their own thing. As this was the last class of the day, everyone was anxious to get going.

Eddy was bored out of his mind in this class. Not only did the classroom smell without Ed's help, but the lesson was long and dull. He could not wait for class to end, because he had a scam to get set up, and boy, did he have one planned.

Ed, however, was anticipating the event that was to come to the cul-de-sac this weekend – the Easter Bunny. Supposedly, the Easter Bunny was taking a trip to Peach Creek, and he's going around town to meet everyone there. Despite his allergies, Ed was desperate to meet this Rabbit, as it was one of his childhood heroes.

"And that concludes the lesson on the Ninety-Five Theses," concluded the teacher. "Any questions, before I ask questions of my own?"

Silence struck the teacher in the face.

"Well, I guess I'll quiz you on the lesson. Raise your hand if you know the main reason Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses in the first place."

Unsurprisingly, Edd raised his hand first.

"Yes, Eddward?" asked the teacher.

"The main reason Martin Luther penned the Ninety-Nine Theses was because indulgences were not a way to climb to Heaven. Furthermore, he believed that, and I quote, _belief was enough to travel to Heaven,_" explained Edd.

"Well said, Eddward. The next question is-"

BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

That signaled the end of class, much to everyone's delight.

"Okay, class, have a good weekend, and have a good Easter Sunday!" cheered the teacher.

By the time that sentence was ended, everyone had already left the classroom. They had other stuff to do that day.

As the students poured out of the school, Eddy led his friends to an area behind the school. It seemed he had a plan, and he was ready to reveal it.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do," began Eddy. "My Mom buys dozens upon dozens of eggs every Easter holiday, and she's willing to share some for me to color. Of course, I'll be coloring them this year, but we'll be selling them too, as Liquid-Chocolate Eggs, straight from the Easter Bunny."

"I don't think that's plausible, Eddy," argued Edd. "Selling pre-colored eggs are alright, but passing them off as chocolates isn't going to work. They're going to catch on pretty quick."

Eddy shrugged, and insisted, "This _will_work, Double D. I'm sure of it. Are you in, Ed?"

"No can do, Eddy," sighed Ed. "Me and Sarah are going to meet the Easter Bunny today. Maybe I can after I hug the bunny."

Ed's naïve behavior was the trigger for Eddy's laughter.

"Oh man, you still believe in the Easter Bunny?"

"…yeah."

"Look, Ed, there's no such thing as an Easter Bunny. They just tell you that to make you happy," affirmed Eddy.

"No way!" argued Ed. "The Easter Bunny is real."

"That's life for ya, Ed."

"_Eddy!_", scolded Edd. "Ed has a right to believe in the Easter Bunny, just as much as you have a right to believe that your scam will work."

"I'm just telling him what I know, Double D. Don't get yourself tied up in a knot like that," said Eddy.

"I will prove that the Easter Bunny is real!" said Ed. On that note, he grabbed Edd and Eddy and dragged them on a path to the Cul-De-Sac.

When they got there, they saw a line headed towards an oversized Rabbit, which was giving out free hugs to the people who lived in the area.

"See?" smirked Ed. "The Easter Bunny is real!"

"It's just Kevin and Rolf in a costume, Monobrow," insisted Eddy.

Had Ed given any heed to what Eddy said, he would have instantly started an argument with Eddy. But he was still excited for the inevitable event that would take place. "If we're lucky," Ed continued, "we'll be next in line."

With that, he and his friends got in line and started to wait for their turn to be hugged.

"Oh boy oh boy, I can't wait!"

As soon as Jonny, the previous person to be hugged, went back to his house, Ed dashed towards the Easter Bunny. Before the latter could react, Ed had started to squeeze it so hard and with so much love that he might have ripped the top part off.

And that's exactly what happened.

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!_

"Hey! Let go of me, you _dork_!"

Ed froze. "Dork?" he questioned. He took a quick look up – indeed, he _had_ripped the top part of the Bunny off, but instead of blood and gore, he saw only a person in a costume. It looked quite like Kevin. He took a look at the bottom part – inside the supposed body was Rolf.

"No… no…"

Ed could not believe it – this Easter Bunny was a fake; a fraud. And who's to say that there might be other fraudulent Bunnies everywhere else?

Eddy was right... Eddy was right…

Right there and then, he fell to the ground and fainted.

* * *

><p>When Ed opened his eyes next, he was in a magical land full of cliché childhood fluff. As soon as he took a quick look around, he grinned. He was definitely in his happy place, especially considering the shock that struck him earlier.<p>

He glanced at a small, round table, and took note of its inhabitants. The person seated was another oversized rabbit similar to the one Ed had ripped by accident. There was an open seat available, so he took his opportunity to sit down with this Bunny.

"Uh…hello," smiled a reluctant Ed.

"Why hello there!" grinned the Bunny. "I'm the Easter Bunny, and I welcome you to sit and have tea with me!"

Ed was joyous at this welcoming attitude. "Goody goody!"

So they sat down and drank tea. They chatted for a jolly good while, discussing action heroes, upcoming holidays, and somehow political figures. But after a while, Ed knew he had to express his feelings towards this godly figure.

"Uh, Mr. Easter Bunny?" began Ed. "I've seen one of your kind ripped apart, and inside was Kevin and Rolf. I don't know why."

The Bunny chuckled. "Well, good sir, let me tell you a little secret about us Easter Bunnies."

Ed put his hand to his ear to hear this secret. He could hardly wait

He probably should have waited, for the secret was a sin.

"_I'm not real._"

Ed gasped in horror at those dastardly three words, for not only did they hurt him mentally, but they confirmed what he had originally thought. The Easter Bunny was a scam, a fraud.

"NO!"

All at once, everything changed. The Easter Bunny started laughing in hysteria. The words 'not real' rang throughout the fluffy area despite the noise made by the laughter. Gradually, the Bunny's skin started withering up. In about a timespan of 5 to 10 seconds, the Easter Bunny was nothing more than a skeleton, a corpse.

As soon as this death occurred, the scenery changed from lavish to nightmarish. The trees started burning up, and were slowly reduced to ashes. The ground had become more dull and lifeless. And the sky turned blood-red. It was hellish.

Ed started wandering around this newfound land. All around he saw more littering this yard; bones that resembled that of the Easter Bunny. He could not bear to see them, so he averted his eyes elsewhere. Unfortunately, he saw something other than bone, and while it was slightly more preferable to the latter, he found that this wasn't satisfying. In fact, it had the peculiar shape of a broken egg, and when Ed looked closely, it almost had a face on it – a face of horror.

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…" Ed realized, "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…All the King's horses and all the King's men..."

He picked up the eggshell, held it with a soft touch, and, realizing the truth, crushed it in his hand out of sadness.

"…will never put him together again."

He whirled around, and discovered another chair – in it contained another body. It was red, grand, and rather stout. It had a big, round nose, a beard, and a hat.

It was the body of-

"…Santa? Are you sleeping?"

The body did not stir. Perhaps Ed could attempt to wake the man up. With the last ray of hope, he poked the shoulder of poor St. Nick, and to his disturbance, the body simply rolled off the chair and onto the ground.

"Ho…ho…ho…" moaned the man, before shrinking into nothing, just as the Easter Bunny had.

With that, Ed had concluded one thing.

His childhood was over. Nothing he believed in was real. There was no Easter Bunny, there was no Humpty Dumpty… "_Ed…"_ and there was no Santa Claus. "_Ed, wake up!_"

Perhaps he could believe that there was no-

"_For Heaven's sake, Ed, wake up!"_

Ed woke up with a scream.

"Please don't hurt me, evil ones!" shouted Ed in agony.

"Ed, are you alright?" asked Edd, who was tending to Ed's body for the time he was out.

Ed was out for about four hours, and by the time he woke up, it was already nighttime. Ed had gained more sleep than he really needed, and he really didn't need this sleep.

Ed took a look at the supposed "evil one", and sheepishly grinned. "Sorry, Double D! I guess I got carried away."

"It's alright with me, Ed. I suppose the shock knocked you out for several hours," mused Edd.

"I told you there was a-" began Ed in his last chance at a dream, before he was interrupted.

"Luckily, Kevin and Rolf had a spare costume, so now they continue to be the Easter Bunny this year," continued Edd.

"…Oh."

"…is something the matter?" inquired Edd.

"…no. Nothing's wrong."

"…well, good night, Ed," sighed Edd, who walked out of his room to let him sleep for the rest of the night.

What Ed had said was a lie. Everything was wrong. Ed's nightmare wasn't just a dream – it was reality.

* * *

><p>For both Saturday and the majority of Sunday, Ed shut himself in his room. He did not speak to anyone, he did not look at anyone, and he did not move for anyone. He was in a very depressed state; so saddened, in fact, that he didn't even smile.<p>

Sarah knew that something was wrong, and, learning from the last time Ed was depressed, kept her distance. Edd figured that Ed didn't want to see anyone, yet he felt that he had to do something to cheer him up. So on Sunday, he convinced Eddy to delay his scam in order to make Ed happy again.

Despite this, Ed didn't want visitors. He just wanted some alone time.

"So Ed, are you okay?" inquired Edd. When no response was given, he continued. "I'm dreadfully sorry about what happened yesterday, and if there's anything you want us to do to cheer you up, don't be afraid to tell us."

Again, no response was given. Edd sighed, and put a purple Easter Egg beside him, and got off his bed. He then had a private discussion with Eddy, which was pronounced using whispers.

"…you try, then, Eddy," pushed Edd, who left the room directly afterwards.

"Alright, alright," groaned Eddy.

Eddy walked up to Ed, and asked, "Are you okay, Monobrow?"

For the third time in a row, Ed didn't speak.

"Well, I'm alright, thanks for asking. The scam's going well, and I figured we can get you a Jawbreaker after this is done."

That statement would normally cheer Ed up, but this wasn't the case.

"…guess not. Your loss, bud. But I might as well give you this Easter Egg," sighed Eddy. He put another Easter Egg – this time, it was yellow – beside the saddened Ed. He started to get up, and was about to leave, when Ed spoke.

"You were right, Eddy…" moaned Ed.

Eddy stared for a moment, then left the room, leaving Ed alone with his eggs.

After a few minutes, Jonny entered the room to check up on him.

"Hey, Ed!" beamed Jonny.

That greeting failed to uplift a response from Ed.

"I heard about Friday's incident, and I have to say that that was a powerful hug! Too bad Kevin and Rolf got the blunt of it," continued Jonny. "Anyway, I'd like to give you a gift from the Easter Bunny."

"Why do you still believe in the Easter Bunny?" asked Ed.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw what happened on Friday. There _is_no Easter Bunny."

"…are you alright, Ed?" asked Jonny.

"I'm fine, Jonny."

"I'm not so sure," mused the boy. "I mean, this isn't like you."

"…no, I'm not okay. I'm an unhappy Ed," admitted Ed. On that note, he burst into tears.

"Ed, don't cry!"

"All my life has been a lie, Jonny! My childhood heroes are not real!"

"Calm down, Ed!" said Jonny.

"…alright," sighed Ed, even though he was still crying.

"Do you mind if I let you on a secret that I've known since I was little?" suggested Jonny.

"…yes."

"Well, here goes…

"I know that the Easter Bunny that was here on Friday was a fake, you can bet your money on that. Sure, there's several other imposters, but that's not the point. I believe in the Easter Bunny, I believe that there is one out there. Sure, there's merchandise for the Bunny, but that's only merchandise.

"The Easter Bunny is real, and he's out there…somewhere. I believe, and you can still believe in him. Without belief, there is no Easter Bunny. There are several people who believe in the Easter Bunny, just like I do. That's what keeps him alive. Belief is enough.

"And the same goes for everything from your childhood. Childhood is a precious egg," said Jonny, handing Ed a red Easter egg. "Keep it from hatching, for it is what keeps you from being sad."

Ed did not know what to say about this. This was Jonny's philosophy, and he had a right to refute it. But yet, he knew that it could not be refuted. He smiled at this. He knew that Jonny was right.

So he did the only thing he could do to humor Jonny.

He accepted the gift, and in doing so he accepted his childhood.

* * *

><p>Just as Ed had taken the egg and put it in his huge pocket, Sarah burst into the room.<p>

"Ed! The Easter Bunny's back!"

Ed beamed at the chance to see the Easter Bunny again. "Goody goody!"

He and Jonny burst out of his house, and saw a couple things. Ed saw that the scam that Eddy was pulling was going over very well ("These Eggs will be ripe on Easter Night, and they will be very chocolaty!"), and that the line for the Easter Bunny was pretty short. Sarah, Jonny, himself, and Jimmy were in line right then, in that very order. As soon as Sarah and Jonny took their hugs, Ed noticed something.

This Easter Bunny was the exact same costume Kevin and Rolf had used. He didn't want to believe it, but this Bunny was a fraud.

Despite this, he knew that he had to hug it.

When his turn came, he stared at the costume for a minute, and then hugged it. He hugged it, not because it was the Easter Bunny, but because he believed in the Easter Bunny. He hugged because he believed that there was an Easter Bunny out there, and by hugging this fraud, he held onto his childhood beliefs forever.

His joy was not even interrupted when an egg was thrown at Ed's head.

"Get out of line, Ed. It's Jimmy's turn!" growled Sarah.

However, the egg – it was colored green – fell to the ground.

"Sarah! That was going to be our Easter Desert!" screamed Jimmy, who was terrified that his money had gone to waste.

When the Egg hit the ground, however, it broke and spawned yolk. Not chocolaty yolk, but egg-yolk, like in a real Egg. Everyone gasped at this shock.

"Wait, so this Chocolate Egg was a fake?" asked Sarah in shock.

Instantly, Ed was not the focus of attention. Instead, everyone turned to the stand selling these kind of eggs, in demand of an explanation.

"Uh…" stammered Eddy. "Like I said (heh), only on Easter Night!"

"Yeah. Not buying it," snarled Sarah. "GET HIM!"

In an instant, an all-out beatdown occurred towards the Ed's, aside from Ed. This lasted until the money collected had been returned to their rightful owners. Everyone rejoiced at the failure of Eddy's scam, and returned to their homes, money in hand. "I almost had it, Double D!" Eddy complained.

Ed sighed. Another Jawbreaker down the drain. However, the egg he received as a gift was one he'd keep forever and ever.

"C'mon, Ed," nudged Sarah. "Let's go home for some _real_ chocolate eggs!"

Ed nodded, and went with Sarah to their house to eat what the Eds lied about. Sure, it was firm, but that's what Ed's belief was, too.

The End


End file.
